Harry, the white dog with black spots

Harry is a mischievous, fun-loving dog. You know he's the center character of these books by Gene Zion because he's the only one with a name--the others are just "Harry's family." The pictures are adorable, and the stories are fun and sweet. We are really glad that we discovered these classic books: Harry the Dirty Dog, Harry by the Sea, and No Roses for Harry.

George & Martha

George and Martha are two hippos that are the best of friends. These droll books by James Marshall make me laugh; more importantly, they make my daughter laugh too. So they're amusing for both parent and child. This is one of the few series where I really think all the books are equally fun and would recommend reading (and buying) them all: the original George & Martha, George & Martha Tons of Fun, George & Martha Encore, George & Martha One Fine Day, and George & Martha Round and Round.

Books with bunnies and blankets

My two girls are both extremely attached to their fuzzy baby blankets. In fact, we bought each girl six of the same blankets (butterflies for Elissa and bunnies for Elena) so that there would always be a clean blanket ready to go.

That said, Elissa loved Flora's Blanket by Debi Gliori. Flora is a little bunny who has misplaced her blanket and can't go to sleep without it. She makes her whole family turn the house upside-down looking for her blanket, only to finally discover it in her parents' bed! The companion book, Flora's Surprise!, is equally charming as it follows little Flora's determined efforts to plant a brick that will grow into a home.

Animal books

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson opens with a few animals huddling for shelter in the cave of a bear. They are having a jolly time...until the bear wakes up and starts growling at them. But never fear--he's only upset because they've been having fun without him and is easily appeased once the animals offer to pop more corn and invite him to join their festivities. There are several follow-on books: Bear Wants More, Bear Feels Sick, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, Bear's New Friend, and Bear Feels Scared. But the first one is definitely the best.

Fun train book for boys (& girls)

After looking at my posts, I realized that most of the books I have listed have girl protagonists. So, for the sake of my friend Vivien, who is expecting a boy, here's a recommendation for a fun train book. Chugga-Chugga Choo Choo by Kevin Lewis is fun to read and has bright colorful pictures. The story follows a train as it journeys to the city...and at the end you realize that the journey has taken place in a little boy's room around all his belongings before he goes to sleep.

Favorite board books

Two of my favorite board books are illustrated by Charles Fuge. I love Sometimes I Like to Curl Up in a Ball, which follows Little Wombat's delightful antics throughout his day, ending with him curling up to sleep next to his mommy. The rhyming text for this book was written by Vicki Churchill and is a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the sequels were both written and illustrated by Charles Fuge and are not much fun to read, although the pictures of Little Wombat are still cute.

Charles Fuge did a better job when he wrote the book I Know a Rhino, a fanciful story of a little girl and all her marvelous animal friends, who turn out to be the stuffed animals that she sleeps with. Cute and fun to read.

Asian-American children's books

I first learned about author/illustrator Grace Lin through her drawings in The Seven Chinese Sisters by Kathy Tucker. Elissa loved this book, which features seven feisty sisters, each with a different talent that come in useful when the youngest sister is snatched away by a hungry dragon. The illustrations are so much fun--lots of swirls in the skies and patterns everywhere, which I later learned are a hallmark of Grace's drawings.

Then my parents returned from a Taiwanese med school reunion and brought me Grace's business/demo card advertising her website. It turns out Grace's dad was a fellow classmate of my dad. We started checking out more and more of Grace's books. My favorites are The Red Thread (a beautiful adoption fairy tale that brings tears to my eyes), The Ugly Vegetables (a primer to Chinese veggies), and The Year of the Rat/Dog/etc. (primary-grade books that are like Ramona the Pest for Asians).

More toddler books

Today I read Elena and Elissa a library book called Hello, Lulu by Caroline Uff. Elissa liked it, but Elena loved it, just like Elissa did when I checked it out a few years ago when she was a toddler.

The Lulu books are simple and sweet with big, colorful pictures. Elena can now say "Lu-lu" and insisted that I read the book 5 times before she went to bed tonight. Happy Birthday, Lulu and Lulu's Busy Day are lots of fun too.